LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Authorities in Arkansas placed a 911 operator on paid administrative leave as they investigated delays in dispatching firefighters and police officers to an accident in which a woman later died and a child was critically injured, police said Tuesday.

The operator received a call at 7:57 a.m. Monday, saying the woman, Jinglei Yi, was trapped in a vehicle in a pond in west Little Rock, police spokeswoman Sgt. Cassandra Davis said. The operator contacted an ambulance service four minutes later, Davis said.

However, police said the Fire Department was not dispatched with a water rescue unit until 8:23 a.m. - about 26 minutes later - after the ambulance service called to verify that the department was en route. The water rescue team, which is based more than 10 miles away, arrived about 8:40 a.m., Davis said. Police were dispatched at 8:27 a.m. and arrived at 8:35 a.m., Davis said.

A doctor pronounced Yi, 39, dead at 11:45 a.m. Monday, police said. Her 5-year-old son was critically injured and remained in serious condition Tuesday, Davis said.

It's not clear whether the delay had any role in Yi's death.

"We don't know if we had arrived on time whether the outcome would have been different or not," said Davis, adding that a medical examiner will determine Yi's exact cause of death.

It's also not clear what led to the delays. Police pointed to "reasons undetermined at this time" in a statement Tuesday.

On the 911 call, which The Associated Press obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, one dispatcher describes Yi's situation to another operator in Little Rock while Yi remains on the line.

Then, Yi describes her location and says there is water in her vehicle.

"The water is in my car right now," she says.

The Little Rock operator asks Yi for her name and asks her to hang on.

"OK, ma'am, we're going to get some help on the way for you, OK?" the operator says.

"OK. Thank you," Yi said.

Authorities have not identified the operator, who was placed on paid administrative leave Monday, Davis said. She was hired in March and completed a six-month probation period in September, Davis said.

Davis said Yi hit a patch of ice before she traveled over a curb and ended up in a nearby pond.